Smoak hoping to flip the switch with Mariners

Justin Smoak’s name is scribbled in blue marker over his new locker in the Mariners’ clubhouse for now.

Justin Smoak had a slow start on Saturday, striking out in his first two at-bats. (Otto Gruele Jr./Getty Images)

The 23-year-old centerpiece of the Cliff Lee trade was led in various directions to meet with coaches and find what he needed prior to the game on Saturday. He arrived around 1 p.m., went straight to the ballpark then met with manager Don Wakamatsu. He also had a brief chat with general manager Jack Zduriencik.

“It’s been kind of a roller coaster ride,” Smoak said.

Of course that is applicable to his movement from South Carolina, where he played his college baseball, to the Rangers in two years. Texas selected Smoak 11th overall in 2008. He made his Major League debut April 23 of this year. Now, he’s the key piece in a deal for arguably the American League’s best pitcher.

“They needed Cliff and got him,” Smoak said. “I was the one that needed to go. In this game you never know what can happen.”

Smoak was called into Texas manager Ron Washington’s office yesterday. He wasn’t sure why, thinking he may be jettisoned back to Triple A Oklahoma City because of his .209 batting average. Smoak also has eight home runs and 34 RBIs in 235 at-bats this season.

“It was either a good thing or a bad thing when you go in the manager’s office,” Smoak said. “I wasn’t playing as great as I want to be playing.”

It was a good thing, if moving from first place to last can be. Smoak found out about the trade and readied for a new season, a new career in Seattle.

First thing: Trying to slow the game down.

Smoak tore through the Rangers’ minor league affiliates on his way to Arlington. Since arriving, it’s been a struggle. His paltry batting average seems bad enough. A glance at the switch-hitter’s splits show he has been worse against left-handed pitching. Smoak is hitting just .139 against southpaws. His average crested at .228.

“You feel good at times, the game is going real slow then you start trying to do too much and it catches back up with you,” Smoak said. “That’s one thing I try to do is find a way to stay consistent.”

Wakamatsu came away impressed from their initial chat. He was already impressed with Smoak’s swing. The text message from Rangers stalwart Michael Young that said the Mariners got a good one confirmed everything else Wakamatsu previously heard.

Coincidentally, Wakamatsu was the bench coach in Texas when Mark Teixeira was called up amid high expectations. In our eternal search for comparison, Smoak has been teamed with Teixeira. Switch-hitting power first baseman and all.

“I caution that a little bit,” Wakamatsu said. “He’s an awfully good looking player. He’s a guy that we all think has got a chance to be a special player.

“The adjustment period now with the trade and everything else, there are a lot of things we’re going to monitor and the rest is just him playing every day and getting comfortable and embrace being a Seattle Mariner.”

Smoak’s father encouraged him to be a switch-hitter. He was naturally right-handed at the plate, but threw left-handed. Smoak hopped in the cage around age 10 and tried it out. It stuck.

“I ended up not doing as bad as I thought I was going to do, so I just kept working on it and tried to get better,” Smoak said.

The blessing/curse of switch hitting leads Mariners’ hitting coach Alonzo Powell to view an individual as two different players. There is danger of the naturally dominant hand having too much impact on either side. In addition, a rhythm on one side can be broken in a single game when a reliever shows up and turns the batter around.

“(I) think we’re going to gravitate to trying to let him be as natural as he possibly can,” Wakamatsu said. “That’s why we talk about hitting him sixth. Just trying to get his feet wet and move from there.

“You look at the great hitters that have a fluidity to their swing and that’s what I see with him. He’s a very aggressive hitter. There are some things that he’s going to have to kind of tone down and shorten his swing and certain things. I’m pretty confident he’s going to be able to make those adjustments.”

Smoak will get his first chance on Friday night. He is batting sixth, taking playing time from Casey Kotchman and causing a shuffle throughout the Mariners roster.

“I feel like I’m settling in a little bit,” Smoak said. “I’d like to be doing a lot better than I am doing now. Hopefully things turn around and I get on the right track.”